


חַג שָׂמֵחַ

by SFARADSTANURIS



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Canon Jewish Character, Jewish Holidays, LGBTQ Jewish Character(s), M/M, Modern Era, Rosh HaShana | Jewish New Year, its all abt joe bein jewish n them bein soft !!!, joe is serbian, joe speaks yiddish, more holidays to come ;)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-05 11:52:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14617911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SFARADSTANURIS/pseuds/SFARADSTANURIS
Summary: A collection of small fics on Joseph being Jewish, and Webster being a loving fiancé, and celebrating Jewish holidays and the Jewish identity with him.I: Rosh Hashanah - 1st Night / 'shana tova u'metukah, einayim sheli'II: Shavuot - 1st Night / 'milk and honey are under your tongue'III: Tu B'av / 'i cannot speak my love for you'





	1. shana tova u'metukah, einayim sheli

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shalom !  
> this fic contains looots of jewish stuff (obv), and you'll find some notes about some trivia, explainations and translations at the end of the chapter.  
> please note that if i'm indeed jewish, i'm sephardi, and not ashkenazi, and traditions tend to be different, so i tried to stay in the ashkenazi narrative as much as I could.  
> also, english is not my first language :(.  
> please enjoy, and kindly accept my apologies for any cultural mistake or grammar mistakes.

when webster woke up, he felt cold. joseph was not in bed with him, as he usually would be on a sunday morning. it felt odd, not to have him beside him.

feeling there was no point in staying in a bit too much than necessary, he lazily got out of bed, and opened the window. the sweet wind of september was lulling the orangish city. outside, the city was buzzing with people going to church in sumptuous clothes, with teenagers softly speaking in the morning’s soft and welcoming embrace, kids singing in an unknown language, the sun soothing away worries.

the world felt at peace this day.

when he exited his – their – bedroom, david was discontented not to find his – recently – fiancé nowhere in sight. he haphazardly sat on a chair. he was about to start whining, when a saw a single small note on a bright pink sheet of paper. he carefully took it, and gently smiled as he recognized joe’s best handwriting. it took his fiancé months to master a readable scripture.

‘ _i’m sorry i had to go without a warning; i didn’t want to wake you up. i’ll be back in a few hours. with sweets for breakfast. i’m at the local synagogue, next to the café  where we met. love you, joe x’_

david was surprised to find joseph at his synagogue; not that he disliked going there – the synagogue was one of joe’s favourite place, it was his ‘second home’ he told him – but he did think he would find joe there on a saturday morning, especially since he was so reticent to go there for shabbat services, mostly out of laxness or care for web. he did not mind missing a service to cuddle with webster.

but he did not push the idea. he knew nothing of jewish customs after all. maybe it was normal to have services on a saturday morning ? they just recently moved in together, and maybe joe never actually went because he was too tired to. it was a miracle for joseph to be awake before 10 a.m. on a free day.

so, he waited. he waited until he grew fatigued. he poured himself a cup of coffee. and waited. and joe came back home, looking calm and unusually serene. it was a euphemism to say webster wasn’t charmed by the tranquil look on joe’s face and his little and delicate smile.

it was rare to see joe like this – collected, laid-back, sedate. he usually came home with a sardonic grin, a booming voice chanting the tales of the day or the latest gossip the women behind the mekhitsa were speaking about. because that’s just how joe was: restless, abrasive, loud, always grinning.

‘ **hi** ’, softly greeted joe, while settling one small bag on the kitchen counter. he placed a soft kiss on webster’s temple and settled on a chair next to him.

webster gratefully took the bag and peaked inside. he silently blessed liebgott for bringing him a cherry bagel, his favourite sweet. he then proceeded to greet him back and heartfully thank him for the attention.

they sat in silence for a while, webster eating his bagel and drowning in the moment, with the sun lighting joe’s soft features – making his wet hair shine a little –, his almond brown eyes full of a sort of glee and unspoken faith, the concentrated look on his face as he read a newspaper in some jewish language – hebrew ? yiddish ? web was not sure – and the way his foot still twitched under the counter; and liebgott silently reading, obviously paying more attention to what he was reading to his surroundings.

‘ **so… what were you doing at the synagogue ?** ’

‘ **my momme called me and asked me if i wanted to go on a rosh hashanah service this morning, and since i did not come to one for ages, i accepted. you were already asleep when she called, and i didn’t want to wake you up. we prayed, bathed in the mikveh for the men, and chit-chatted a bit after. might be why i’m so late, sorry about that. you just can’t stop my sisters once they’re at it. oh ! by the way ! tonight’s diner is at ruth’s. i think she just wants to show off to you, to be frank.** ’  

webster simply nodded. when joe had talked to him about rosh hashanah – last year, when they had to cancel a date because the first day of rosh hashanah felt on that night – and, as a loving and open-minded boyfriend, who also lowkey wanted to impress the love of his life, made tons of researched on it. he grasped the basics, and he was content with it. the hebrew words confused him.

but knowing the holiday and **_actually_** participating by dinning at the liebgotts’ was something else, and he genuinely anticipated it. sure, joe told him a week ago that they would dine at his mother’s place, to give web some time to soften and breathe – but hearing him talk about it felt **too** real. he feared he might do a mistake, make a fool of himself. ‘ **my parents adore you, liebling, really, you’ve got nothing to worry about** ’, he could joe say. but that did not ease him. if anything, it just put much more pressure on his shoulders – he did not want joe’s parents to lose their affection for him.

* * *

 

‘ **oh, g.d web, stop it already ! you look just fine ! it’s just my family !** ’, joe cried, throwing his hands in the air. webster has been changing clothes for the past twenty minutes, and joe did not want to be late much more than necessary to be _fashionably jewish_.

behind the door, webster moaned. he wanted this meeting to be perfect. all of joe’s relatives who were in america would be here – a few uncles and aunts, his sisters, his parents, his grandparents – and webster wanted to be at his best. after a few minutes, he finally settled on a simple yet chic two pieces black costume he got for his graduation, a fancy tie, a black and dull kippah joe lent him, a colourful, discreet pin to add colour and the matching star of david necklace he had offered joe for their anniversary.

when he got out of their bedroom, joe looked at him with idle amusement and enough exasperation to silent tell webster they had to hurry.

* * *

 

joe’s oldest – out of four others – sister lived in a big city not so far from where he and joe brought their apartment. yet, they arrived a little late, and webster was starting to get nervous. it was bad – oh ! so bad ! – to show up late to a family diner. he let joseph ring, anxiously waiting for his sister’s frowning face and condemnatory words. but when ruth opened the door, nothing but a huge smile and stretched arms welcomed him.

‘ **shalom yozi ! shalom david ! please come in !** ’, she gleefully greeted them, kissing their cheeks four times for good measure and crushing them in her arms. ‘ **g.d, i’m actually surprised to see you arrive this early, faygele.** ’, she laughed with a wink at joe’s direction. he mumbled something webster did not hear, but ruth apparently did and she just laughed and ruffled her brother’s hair. ‘ **c’mon, have a laugh ! the other guests are in the living room, please come meet them.** ’. the last remark was hinted at david, and he obediently followed ruth into her cozy living room, where joe’s parents, grandparents and one of his sister were waiting.

david politely smiled, waiting for joe to start greeting his relatives in order to copy his gestures, or for the other people in the room to make a move. finally, it was joe’s mother who broke his awkward waiting by gracefully embracing him. ‘ **shalom david. how you grew since we’ve last seen**.’, she very gently said. she pressed a hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead.

mrs. liebgott – or mary – was petite and very gentle lady. she was serbian, from banatski brestovac, a small village in vojvodina. she was born into a poor jewish family, which forced her to quickly abandon her torah studies and hopes of becoming a female rabbi to work and help support her family. despite it all, mary was a force to be reckoned with. the liebgott children inherited her determination and her fighting spirit, but also her undying kindness and softness. she never lost hope, she always braved dangers, she always sacrificed herself for others. her life in serbia and her faith made her the woman she is today. a pious, brave and gentle woman. webster loved every aspect of her, and found so much of liebgott in her, where his siters mostly took after their father, joseph, a sardonic and playful man, who had the chance to taste life’s little pleasures before devoting his life to his wife and six children. joseph father was a funnt, bright and courteous soul, who was prompt to become serious if his family was ever in harm’s way. joe might have taken a bit of his sardonic and playful side, it was nothing compared to his five sisters: webster only saw them two other times, but he collected enough trivia on liebgott and jokes on him to last at least a year. they tended to tease him endlessly, to play and to rile him up, but they loved him more than anything, and could start a war of their little brother. ruth was a lovely and bright woman who volunteered in everything she could. she deeply believed in ‘tikkun olam’, the belief that g.d made the world unperfect on purpose for his children to fix it with prayers and his divine qualities, and so worked in a ngo for refugees. being herself an immigrant – her parents moved to america a few years after her and her little sister were born –, she understood what it meant to have to flee war and hunger and poverty and felt that it was her divine mission to help people in need. her little sister, miriam, was a literature teacher at harvard – something webster deeply admired, having himself made literature studies in harvard – and was witty and clever. she loved debating with webster about shakespeare, and worshipped franz kafka. if webster did not feel any peculiar affection for kafka at first, it quickly changed when he first met her and when she started to enthusiastically praise him and his work. he now deeply loved kafka. joe’s third sister, adina, was an abrasive fire and a really force of nature. she was a professional boxer, before retiring to become a professional swimmer. when webster first saw her, he thought he was meeting a real amazon. she was tall, muscular and had sharp features. she kind of reminded him of joe’s colleague, a man named ron speirs, an intimidating man with a killer gaze. for that reason, he never actually spoke to her, except once to ask for details about that story, when joe was five and he first visited belgrade and almost broke a statue in a museum. from the fondness in her eyes when she talked about it, she could tell she was just as nice, if not just a bit shier, than her sisters, but something in her stature intimidated him way too much. regrettably, he never met joseph’s two other sisters – elizabeth and peggy –, for one went to chile to continue her career as an astronomer in a renowned observatory, while the other was constantly on the move, being a war reporter. but despite not knowing them personally, webster couldn’t help but feel immensely proud of them, of everything they achieved, like he did with all of joe’s family. they went from nothing to having thriving, happy and healthy children. webster admired the strength of them all. he did not think he could have survived in such a hostile place, with so little money, time and help.

he hugged her back and appreciated her sweet perfume. ‘ **hello to you to mrs. liebgott**.’, he said, trying to cover the overwhelming joy he felt at that instant, in the arms of a loving mother.

‘ **oh, please, call me mary, david, we already talked about it.** ’

‘ **he just can’t help it, momme. you know how harvard folks are.** ’, joe jokingly said, hiding a smirk as her sister blithely hit his arm. on that, she returned to the kitchen, to go fetch her new guests a drink. as the tradition wanted, the first drink would be manischewitz, a kosher wine david found sweet and enjoyable, and the day would be blessed with the kiddush. nobody was allowed to drink it until the rest of the guests – adina and miriam – arrived. while waiting for them, they idly talked, and he got to knew joe’s paternal grandparents, thaddeus and barbara, two sweet old people who arrived in america soon after their son and who settled close to them. joe had the chance to grow up with them, and so they taught him yiddish, serbian and german, as well as jewish fairytales and myths, which joe adored. the first graphic novel he ever written was about a jewish fairytale, and he proudly dedicated it to his grandpa and grandma.

adina and miriam arrived about ten minutes after joe and david arrived, and no one seemed surprised or angry, which cooled david. he felt like he fitted in, like that, surrounded by loving people, his fiancé, the sweet smell of the candles the women lit directly after the two late sisters came and the soothing sound of a jewish prayer he did not understand, but could **feel** deep within his soul.

the rest of the night was just as sweet as this entire day has been – he drowned in sweets, with honey, challah, sweet apples, pomegranates and  other symbolic and fruity jewish dishes. he could not feel happier. he laughed and singed even though he did not know the lyrics to the jewish folk song, he shared stories and told jokes which got the whole table erupting in laughter, he touched joseph under the table and bathed in his presence, and he felt like the luckiest man on earth, and he could feel g.d was with them on this night, blessing them, and kindly judging their souls.

* * *

 

it was late when webster and joseph got back home. joseph has had a little too much alcohol, and he was feeling overly joyful and affective, losing himself in webster’s arms and presence, enjoying his smell and his lovely feeling he got from pressing kisses down his neck in the chilling street they had to cross to get to their apartment. webster did not complain, enjoying joe’s affection just as much.

they laughed while getting ready to go to bed, the excitation from tonight and the feeling that they were kings in this world inhibiting their reason and logic. they felt like teenagers again, felt young and perhaps a little tired – but they felt blessed.

they laid in their bed, cuddling each other in a mess of lambs and idle kisses. ‘ **shana tova u'metukah, einayim sheli.** ’, joe whispered, in the sacred silence of the moon, the stars and the dark. webster could guess he was smiling fondly at the tender tone in his voice.

‘ **shana tova to you too, liebling. may your named be inscribed and sealed in the book of life.** ’, he tenderly answered, kissing his fiancé’s hair.

joseph pleasantly sighed, and with that, they silently enjoyed the rest of the night, at peace in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rosh hashanah: the jewish's new year, and also the day where g.d judges everyone's soul.  
> shana tova (hebrew): meaning 'a good year'.  
> kiddush: an important piece of jewish liturgy. we bless the new year with this prayer over wine or grape juice.  
> mikveh: a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in judaism to achieve ritual purity.  
> shana tova u'metukah, einayim sheli: a good and sweet year, my dearest (lit. my eyes)  
> yozi: nickname for people named joseph !  
> faygele (yiddish): can mean little bird, as well as refer to a male homosexual  
> fashionable jewish late: jews are always late. is it a real jewish party is everyone is on time ? unlikely. being late is jewish culture.  
> about joe being serbian: while doing researches on him, i found out that his parents were born in today's serbia, and since this is a modern au, they're serbian whoops


	2. milk and honey are under your tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> webster and liebgott celebrates shavuot at their appartment with the whole liebgott family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shalooom !!!
> 
> i totally forgot to post this chapter for shavuot.......... anyway. shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day g.d gave the torah to the entire nation of israel assembled at mount sinai. itraditionally, we eat dairy, and circular and triangular shapes and flowers are symbolic. 
> 
> then again, this chapter tackles religious subject and david being a Good Goy(tm), who does not really understand jewish stuff but still tries his best. you're doing great sweetie, it's okay we love you.
> 
> thank u for the support and i hope u have a wonderful day <3

web woke up to the sweet light of the flickering candle who was softly illuminating the room and slender arms surrounding his hips. joseph was peacefully sleeping, his dim breathing lulling web’s whole world. david would have loved to sleep in, to study joe until he woke up, kiss him and perhaps more, but he knew joe would not wake up until a few hours – joe rarely woke up before noon on the saturdays where he visited his grandparents –, and he was not content with wasting his time idling. as delicately as possible, he got out of bed, grabbed a peignoir for warm and comfort, and left, not without a faint kiss on joe’s cheek and taking the candle with him. ‘ **do not let it faint ! we’ll need for tonight !** ’, joe had warned him. ‘ **my mom wants to light the holiday candles with already existing flames, that’s just _how_ religious she is** 1 **.** ’ of course, web was more than blithe to please mrs. liebgott.

he did just as joe told him to; he took another long, thin and silky white candle, and transferred the flame into it. he threw the almost fully consummated candle and placed the new one on its silver pedestal. he knew such a candle would last at least eight to ten other hours, so he did not have to fret.

‘ **also, could you tend to the flowers when you’ll wake up ? they need to be watered a lot in order for them to look flawless.** ’, joe enjoined him last night, after warning him about the candles. he did not mind it. he thought flowers were sweet, and he liked to discuss with them. that is probably why babe heffron so keenly picked him to baby-sit his plants when he had to go to work, and that doc. roe did not come home from his shift at the hospital yet when his boyfriend woke up.  for that reason, webster liked to think he was good with plants. so webster tended to the flowers for an hour – their flat was indeed covered in sweet smelling plants.

their home looked _joyful_ like that, covered in pretty flowers, the faint smell of their perfume inebriating web’s senses, and the dim light of the candle bringing warm to their otherwise dull apartment.

_his cheeks are as a bed of spices, as banks of sweet herbs; his lips are lilies dripping with flowing myrrh. from each and every utterance [of the ten commandments] that emerged from the mouth of the holy one, blessed be he, the entire world was filled with fragrant spices._ 2

his deeds done, webster allowed himself some time to work on his novel, which he had started a few months ago, and that he had been eager to finish, to meet glory and praise. unfortunately, he had discovered that writing a concrete first novel was much harder than just writing a harvard essay  or writing something when he had a prompt and no limits. he knew his first novel ought to be perfect, and that exasperated him, because he did not feel _unfettered_ in his work. joe told him countless times that first novels were not expected to be straight out perfect, but webster refused to listen to him, out of pride – he was a harvard student, he knew better – and out of envy – he wanted to be a new york times bestseller _right now_.

‘ **ya know you’re supposed to work on shabbat, right ?** ’, joe raspy, sleepy voice greeted him from their bedroom’s threshold. david was so immersed in his work that he did not hear joe wake up. he babbled something incoherent and meaningless, before saving his work and shutting his laptop. ‘ **good morning, sweetie.** ’, he greeted back, earning a grin from liebgott. ‘ **slept well ?** ’

he made his way to kitchen without waiting for lieb’s answer. he knew joe would follow him or just wait for him on the sofa, like any other morning. he prepared a coffee for liebgott – black with two pieces of sugar – and returned to sit on the sofa with his lover. lieb gratefully took the coffee – web was such a blessing for using electronics instead of lieb on shabbats – and leaned a bit more into web.

‘ **it felt as if i’ve slept for a whole week. i’ve never felt more alive. and i’ve seen you’ve taken care of everything ! thanks, dusha** 3 **.** ’

‘ **are you going to stay awake tonight, then ?** ’

‘ **i don’t know.** ’, liebgott paused for an instant, as if judging the benefits of doing such a thing. ‘ **ruth proposed it to us. i think miriam will do it, i’m not sure about adina. it would be sweet. but i’m not sure i’ll survive staying awake for so long reading the torah. it kinda bores me, to be honest… don’t tell my mom i said that.** ’

webster laughed and dropped the subject. sure, lieb was a devoted man, and he liked his traditions, his culture and faith, but he was still lieb. restless, a man of actions, hyperactive, easily bored by scholar things. i did not matter what lieb would do tonight, webster would be supportive of him. he asked out of curiosity but understood he would not get a definitive answer now.

‘ **anyway, shall we prepare the table for tonight ?** ’, joe proposed, barely hiding his excitement. he loved shavuot.

_the precepts of the lord are sweeter than honey_ 4 _/ milk and honey are under your tongue_ 5

for webster – who only bothered learning the basics of the holiday – the feast made no sense. what did diary, flowers and candles had to do with the torah ? still, he did not say a word and simply watched joe actively finishing to prepare the food webster had to heat. he felt a bit useless, watching his fiancé – who _actually_ knew how to cook –, from a chair in kitchen, put his heart into his strawberry rhubarb blintzes.

‘ **why dairy ?** ’

joseph paused, the simple and quick question stunning him. he looked over at webster, who looked enthralled and inquisitive.

‘ **oh, um, well… there are multiple explanations i guess. some derive the practice directly from scripture, saying we eat dairy to symbolize the “land flowing with milk and honey” we were promised. others look to the mountain itself, which is termed in psalms “mount of _gavnunim_ ”, which could be linked to the hebrew word “ _gevinah_ ”, meaning cheese. sages say that it’s because at mount sinai, the israelites were considered to be as innocent as newborns, whose food is milk. not sure it helps you. just go with whatever fits you better. i like to think it’s because the torah is like milk. king Solomon said the torah had the same healing power as milk and honey. i think it’s _sweet_.** ’

‘ **i see. and so that’s why your meals are almost exclusively made with dairy that day.** ’

‘ **exactly. hope ya didn’t want meat tonight.** ’

_it would be impossible to record, the greatness of the creator, who created the world with a soft utterance, and with a single letter, the letter “heh,” the lightest of the letters. and angels of heaven of all kinds._ 6

webster promptly discovered how charming and pleasant shavuot is. every action was calculated, but seemed so natural and so smooth… the women lit the candles with the already existing flames, blessing the end of the shabbat and welcoming g.d’s gift and g.d’s blessed presence into their home by softly singing into the night. _boruch atoh adonoi eloheinu melech ho’olam asher kideshanu bemitzvosov vetzivonu lehadlik ner shel shabos v'shel yom tov_. _boruch atoh adonoi eloheinu melech ho’olam shehecheyanu vikeeyimanu vihigeeanu lizman hazeh_. david did not understand, and somehow, he did not need to. to see the faith and gentleness the liebgotts placed in their prayers heartened webster’s own small faith he kept from his roman catholic education. but prayers and pious activity swiftly lent their place to feat and joyful activities such as dancing and singing, drinking and eating cheese  & herb rugelach or mascarpone stuffed dates appetizers, while waiting for the main course. and oh ! the wait was justified and worth every second. the main course was sweet, delicious, and webster swore on everything that was holy that joseph’s noodle kugel was the only dish he was going to eat until he died of old age. his family seemed just as enchanted as him. mrs. liebgott complimented him and could not help but bless and compliment her son. ‘ **he really is a cook, my sweet boy. how savoury ! we taste the torah in his special cheesecake ; luxury, honey, milk and blessings !** ’ joe never looked more delighted, embarrassed and proud at the same time, and it was a sight webster was glad to see.

when diner was consummated, they danced the night away. they danced on awful hebrew and religious techno tracks, on old klezmer and yiddish songs, and once they had imbibed enough alcohol on laughter and incoherent yiddish. and webster never felt so good then when he tried to dance to hava nagilah with joe, then when he had to support a jewish family of eight singing a borborygmic yiddish. he felt incredibly inspired, alive, free.

if he had to write a book, he wanted it to look this community’s feats, words, actions, philosophy and spirit. **_immensely proud, relaxed, deep and colourful_**. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: it is prohibited to light/create a new flame on a shabbat, so when a yom tov/a holiday falls on a shabbat evening, you have to light the candles with already existing flames !  
> 2: song of songs 5:13 ; the talmud explains that “from each and every utterance [of the ten commandments] that emerged from the mouth of the holy one, blessed be he, the entire world was filled with fragrant spices.”  
> 3: serbian meaning darling   
> 4: psalm 19:10  
> 5: song of solomon 4.11  
> 6: akdamut, 11th century shavuot poem, written by rabbi meir bar yitzchak


	3. i cannot speak my love for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> webster wakes up, finding a bouquet of roses and a letter which invites him to a date. of course, he goes, and everything just gets so much better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shalom everyone,
> 
> i was feeling /extremely/ cheesy, sappy tonight, and i thought about tu b'av, and i - cried - because that was exactly the excuse i needed to write something. 
> 
> so enjoy some very *romantic* and *maudlin* piece ;)

the warmness of the summer was suffocating. webster turned and turned and turned in his bed, trying to find a cool position. eventually he sighed, resigned. he wanted to laze in bed all day, submerged by the birds’ chant, but he also did not want to die of overheating – if that was a thing. going out of bed was hard, firstly because it was too hot to move, and secondly because he did not see the point today. he did not feel like writing, he did not feel like going out, he did not feel like dancing or singing, or anything really. he did not have any classes, joseph was out working to try to support the both of them financially – _you’re going to kill yourself, working that much joe, my parents can pay joe_ , but when did liebgott ever listened to him? sometimes, he really hated this man and his stubbornness and childishness.

he idly walked into the main room of the flat, and whined as the sun aggressed him. he promptly closed the curtains and turned the air conditioning on and on the coolest degree. half-asleep, he did not notice the smelly and rosy roses until he stood right in front of them. the sweet taste of the flowers woke him up, and a small grin appeared on his face. he smelled them, taking in their fragrance, and felt his face warm up when he saw a letter hidden between the red petals.

joe never truly showed his love directly. he never wrote poems, letters or things of that kind. he never told webster he loved him except on particular occasions, he never theatrically staged his love. his love came through small details, like a more delicate, chaste kiss on the lips or the temple, a little teasing remark here and there, a small bouquet of daisies he picked on his way home,  a sweet nickname, miscellaneous and impromptu gentle words in a foreign language – joe felt things more intensely in his mother languages, webster knew, so him saying them in yiddish, german or serbian just showed how passionate he was about his words and how true they were –, little notes wishing him a gleeful day. no, joe did not show his joe like david did, in his dramatic and romantic glory.

but today was different. joe actually bought a wonderful and professional looking bouquet of roses – his favourite flowers – and took time to write a letter in a nice cursive handwriting. webster felt incredibly warm, despite the air conditioner. he simpered like a young girl in a maudlin film. he opened the letter, slowly and nicely, and watched it tenderly before opening the folded paper.

_my love — i have been in so irritable a state of mind because of tisha b’av_ 1 _and the state of the world these two or three last days, that i did not think i should be able to write this love letter. so much so as only to be capable of a teasing letter. that is not what i wanted for you, not today. i hope you did not blame me for my unusual quietness and distance this past week. but i am greatly recovered, so much that i only feel the languor i have felt after you touched me with ardency last night._

_i am not that great of a poet, and i mainly based this letter on a john keats letter i found you reading. so, forgive me if i wander a little from my usual persona i know you love, for I have been all day employed in a very abstract poem about your loving embrace and i am in deep love with you – now more than ever –, two things which must excuse me and this my maudlin writing. perhaps i am too vehement, then fancy me on my knees._

_you absorb me in spite of myself — you alone: for i look not forward with any pleasure to what is called being settled in the world; i tremble at commitment, losing one ounce of freedom, settled in a calm and mundane routine — yet for you i would meet them, i would lose my freedom i cherish so much, i would sacrifice any reckless actions, just to hold you, see you sketched naked, stroll with for only company your divine self._

_i would have two luxuries to brood over in my walks, your loveliness and how warm your hand is in mine. o that i would have possession of them both in the same minute._

_what softer words can i find for you after this – i cannot speak my love for you. i am distracted with a thousand thoughts. i will imagine you venus tonight and pray, pray, pray to your star like a devote._

_or, my dear love, we could meet, meet where our hearts first learned what it was like to yearn for passion and intimacy. if you so wish so, please meet me at 7 p.m. i hope to see you there, and to not have revulsed you with such a romantic language. i was aspiring to meet your expectations and your ideals._

_yours forever, my fair star,_

_joseph liebgott._

webster dried the _lover tears_ who fell down his cheeks and chuckled to himself. how lovely of joseph to bother writing a letter, and so divine and exquisite ! as unusual as it was of joe, webster definitively loved it, and held the letter to his heart. he felt like fanny, being vowed by john keats and everything felt like a fantasy. he always kept his longing for such a letter quiet, not wanting to hurt joseph’s feelings about not going to college or having dropped out of high school early and appear like a ‘ _bourgeois prick’_ as he would say. yet joe, out of his own initiative, wrote him a letter, inspired by one of his favourite romantic author, copying his style, phrasing and vocabulary.

suddenly, he felt like writing love poems, he felt like wandering in gardens and parks, he felt like dancing and singing, he felt like a poet, a lover, a king, a god. he had all day to think and daydream, knew joseph was there beside him, could feel his arms around his hips, his soft lips against his neck, hear his breathy laugh, his gentle words. now and always, he vehemently loved this man and his delicate almost-hidden romanticism and love.

_he walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies_ 2

at 7 p.m., webster arrived at the small downtown café where they met on one fateful evening, and chatted their way into the night and eventually into each other’s arms in a delightfully sinful night, near joseph’s synagogue, malarkey’s roman catholic church, webster’s favourite library. joseph looked divine, in a white shirt with black pants, carefully styled hair, glowing skin – webster loved this highlighter on him –, soft features that looked like bronze in the evening sun, sitting at the outside table where they sat together _that_ night. his foot was in a sort of anxious trance, dancing in the air beneath the table. joe was frowning at a point somewhere at the horizon and webster smiled. he carefully approached his lover and kissed his hair from behind. joseph got out of his trance and looked relieved.

‘ ** _you came_ ’**, he breathed out.

‘ **of course, i came ! after such a letter, who wouldn’t have come ?** ’

‘ **i was stressed it was… too much, ya know? it’s not like, i have a talent or something. i’m not at your level.** ’

‘ **joe, this letter was fantastic, it was everything i could hope for. it was so…. beautiful and intense. somehow, despite it not being your writing style, it was still you, because it was intimate and intense**.’, webster comforted him while sitting in front of him. ‘and the roses? divine ! when did you have time to buy those anyway?’

‘ **i might have skipped an hour or two at work to prepare everything, i must admit. i paid toye to cover me**.’

webster laughed, despite wanting to reprimand joseph for acting like a teenager and putting his job at risk. he doubted guarnere would actually dismiss him, he was a friend of some sort –  even if they had a sort of love-hate relationship, their first meeting being a fistfight – after all.

joseph smiled at his love’s outburst. for a few moments, they stayed like that, eyes in eyes, fingers unexpectedly brushing, loving gazes shared above a single white rose placed in the middle of the table.

‘ **can i take your order, sirs?** ’, a voice abruptly asked.

david was kind of startled, to have this romantic bubble so suddenly popped, and kind of sad when joseph detached his gaze of him to look at the young girl waiting by the table.

‘ **yes, we’ll have a coffee with two sugars for me, and a white chocolate mocha for him**.’

the young girl smiled and left them to return to their idyllic daydream.

_and all that’s best of dark and bright, meet in his aspect and his eyes_ 2

the evening was wonderful and joyful. the two of them were laughing until tears, earnestly holding hands and sharing anecdotes.

‘ **what ? i never told you about my birthright** 3 **trip? oh my g.d, wait you have to hear this.’, webster was already chortling. ‘ok, so, picture me, at eighteen, with basic hebrew, going on a trip to jerusalem of all places, with other jews from the whole state. we arrived there, and, like, there was this mizrahi guy – who looked really mizrahi, you get me – and the motherfucking israeli police arrested him at the airport because he looked arab? don’t laugh, it’s true and it wasn’t funny to the chaperon, he almost had an aneurysm. ok so, eventually he was released, and the guy was like ‘fuck it, i’m going back to my town, i’m not staying there, bye’ and took the earliest plane to the united states. i missed him, he was nice-‘**

‘ **nice how?** ’, webster batted his eyes.

‘ **nice like a luz type of guy, nothing i would have dated web, biallah ealayk** 4 **.** ’

‘ **really? look at you, speaking like him now! when did you even learn that** ’, webster laughed. joseph rolled his eyes and simply continued with his story.

‘ **anyway, so we were there for a whole week. we mainly visited the city, went to the wall, visited synagogues and stuff, but sometimes we had free time. i met two guys there, very nice and fun, reminded me of babe and chuck. we hanged out, we skateboarded – don’t laugh, i was not your typical skater boy ok, i already told you – and once we wandered around town and all – our hotel was near the wall –, and believed me or not, but we accidentally ended on the other side of the wall. because, there was like, a piece of the wall that was not quite as good as the others, who wasn’t heavily guarded and stuff, and we thought it was a building site or something, so we just, passed through the whole in the wall, passed the fence and suddenly, we were in abu dis. we totally freaked out – we were alone, in a forbidden area, with no passport and no good reason to be here. also, we were lost in the city by the time we noticed the signs were in arabic and not in hebrew anymore. so, we looked for a soldier, anyone. we looked so dumb, panicking and whining in a mix between english and hebrew. eventually, we found a soldier who was guarding the wall, and we tried to explain the situation to him. he was young, maybe nineteen or twenty, and he looked at us with a funny expression and i understood that he doubted our story, so i had to find something. i started to cry. i whined and was like ‘ _oh no, i’m going to die here, without my momme, without my sweet sisters, alas ! if hashem wishes so, then maybe it is my fate_ ’ and people from around town started to gather near the checkpoint to watch and the soldier was panicking – the other dude was asleep – and so eventually he told me to shut up and he let us go back to jerusalem, without checking for passports and with a resigned look. it was awesome. we were legends after that**.’

‘ **i really can’t believe you.** ’, webster sighed between laughs. ‘ **how are you even alive right now, oh my g.d.** ’

‘ **my charms dare i presume** ’, he winked. webster chuckled.

‘ **yeah, right**.’

‘ **oh, by the way, i got you something from jerusalem from the last time i went there.** ’

‘ **so?** ’

‘ **yes. and i really hope you’ll like it.** ’

and with that, joseph gracefully stood up, and dropped on one knee, while webster looked at him, aghast. joe rummaged through his jean pocket, and took out a small black box. he was smiling, although his eyes were starting to fill up with anxious and excited tears. he opened the box revealing a beautiful silver ring, with twelve stones representing the celeste jerusalem.

‘ **web, your presence gives me more delight, than anything in the world but yourself could do. all my thoughts are directed towards you, all my unhappiest days and nights have been cured thanks to your smile and tender gestures. i have several things to speak to you, yet now, i can only find one thing to say to you, will you marry me? i do not find the courage to live a life without my basherter.** ’

webster was speechless for once. he felt all kind of love go through him, all sort of astonishments but most of all, he dreamed of all the way to say yes to the man he loved, but none felt adequate. so, he opted for a kiss. joseph almost fell at the sudden weight, but managed to hold them both on their knees. they parted after what felt like an eternity of passion, and joseph brightly smiled.

‘ **it’s a yes then, right?** ’

webster, eyes filled with tears, could only nod, and the whole café erupted in ovations. david threw himself in joseph’s arms, and, from the corner of his eyes, could see nixon smirking, while watching the scene, sending a thumbs up in their way. no doubt had joseph warned nixon and dick, who owned the café, and who were also long date friends to them both, that he was going to propose tonight.

‘ **gosh, i love you so much, lieb. _i cannot speak my love for you_**.’

he felt lieb smiling against his neck.

‘ **well, happy tu b’av** 5 **for you, love. may hashem bless this union.’, he laughed. ‘i love you too. more than anything. i can’t wait to build my life with you.** 6’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: the saddest day on the jewish calendar, who falls on the ninth of av. it is the date when both our holy temples were destroyed, and exile, persecution and spiritual blackness began. it is a solemn day of mourning and sadness. we fast, we stay home, etc.  
> 2: come from lord byron's she walks in beauty  
> 3: a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to israel for young adults of jewish heritage, aged 18–32. of course, you're not allowed to go to the west bank.  
> 4: i have to say that i put this in arabic, because i absolutely don't know how to say it in hebrew ?? i know what it is in yiddish, but i decided to play the laugh card for this one ;)/ it means 'for the love of g.d'.  
> 5: tu b'av (fifteenth of av) happens a week after tisha b'av. tu b'av is a day of love, compared to valentine's day.  
> 6: but tu b'av is also a day of (re)construction. a rabbi said: "if we have the power to destroy, we have the power to build."


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